Within The Bonds

82: We've Got Company

"Unless your father has given you any tips on how to outrun a pack of angry armed guards, I suggest we make a run for it," I remark earning a firm nod from him after which he grabs my hand and we sprint out the exit.

"Empty car," I point out as we run across the small clearing surrounding the cabin, we were held in.

"It's of no use to us," he dismisses. "It most probably has an inbuilt GPS in it, we can't take the risk," he adds.

"But it might have other things we can use," I say and run towards the black bulletproof SUV that stands alongside a few other cars by themselves at the end of the clearing where the stretch of the forest begins.

"Astoria! Wait," Alessandro whisper yells when I leave his side.

Ignoring him for the time being I fidget with the lock of the car for a hot second before I manage to open it. On my gut instincts, I straight away go for the glove compartment and sure enough, I find what I'm looking for.

"Really not my style but it'll have to do for now," I mumble to myself, holding the colt I found in the glove compartment in a firm grip in my hands.

"We need to run," Alessandro says joining me near the car, before pulling me into the forest with him making us duck and jump over the fallen tree branches in our way.

"How much longer for them to find us?" I pant out as we find ourselves pretty deep into the forest as the smell of decomposing leaves and wildflowers invades my senses.

"The guys should be able to pinpoint our location by now, but we need to figure out a way to make contact with them," he breathes out trying to catch his breath as well.

"And how do we do that?" I ask scanning the area around us for any threats.

"I haven't thought about that as yet," he admits. "But I'm sure we'll think of something," he adds making me nod in agreement.

"Let's rest for five minutes, then we'll try finding our way out of here," I suggest with heaved breathing and sweat trickling down my forehead that's now coated with dry blood and dirt.

"Yeah," he breathes out flopping down on a fallen tree branch while I do the same.

"How does your head feel?" He enquires after a few fleeting moments of silence between us, lightly brushing the back of his hand against the trail of dry blood on my face.

"Fine, I guess," I shrug trying my best to ignore the warm fuzzy feeling that bubbles in the pit of my stomach at his touch.

Bringing my eyes back to meet his when the tingling feeling subsides, I'm quick to recognize the flash of amusement dancing in his mischievous green orbits.

"What's so funny?" I grumble under my breath as I mentally pry that I stop blushing.

"Do I make you nervous, Astoria?" He questions inching his face a little closer to mine causing my breath to hitch and my cheeks to redden on their own.

"Nope," I reply snapping my head in the other direction and away from his captivating gaze.

"You sure?" He persists, amusement evident in his tone. In reply to his question, this time all I do is shrug as my words get stuck in my throat, ad my mind turns into mush all over again.

'It's unfair how he has such an effect on me and I don't on him' I whine to myself while still trying to avoid his gaze.

"We should get back on our track, the sun is almost up," he says pulling me out of my thoughts. Taking the hand, he extends towards me; I jump back on my feet and continue our path through the dense forest cover hoping to find a way out of here.

Wandering further into the forest for another hour if not more, our search for an exit route is inconclusive. All the trees appear the same while having the sun only peeking from behind the horizon doesn't help us locate our location as well.

"We're lost," I conclude reaching the end of the path we were following.

"I know, but we need to keep moving," he replies pulling me along with him towards another dirty path that's covered with dry and dying leaves shed by the trees shadowing over it.

We both come to an abrupt halt when the faint sound of leaves being crushed reaches our ears. "We have company," I point out reaching for the colt I tucked away between the waistband of my jeans and my waist.

"It's getting louder," he notes making us both fall silent as my senses go on high alert.

"We need to get out of sight," I remark tugging him off the path and behind some trees.

"Where the hell is those two. If the boss finds out we let them go..." The guy trails off leaving his statement hanging as a hint of terror is detectable in his tone.

"They can't have gone too far." Another man reassures the first as their heavy footsteps and the sound of leaves being crushed under their feet give away their location.

"We need to get them before he arrives." The first man remarks as their voice continue to get fainter indicating that they have taken another route.

'Who the hell is this he they are referring to?'

'Are they talking about the Todorov?'

'No...Alessandro said that that was too much security for an assassin'

Pulling me out of my thoughts Alessandro is quick to guide us through the maze of deciduous trees that are surrounding us while still making sure that we aren't in plain sight.

"I don't think I have any more energy left," I pant tugging on our interwind hands to brings us to a stop.

"We'll take a break for a few," he says as I flop down on the ground with my back pressed against a tree while trying to catch my breath and calm my racing heart.

"I don't think I can keep wandering around like this," I state as the ache in my legs increases as does the throbbing in my head.

"I know," he sighs equally exhausted.

"But we still need to make contact with the others and figure a way out of here," he adds as an afterthought.

"I don't think there's a way out of this forest," I reply conclusively. "Well, except the way we got in of course," I add trying to rub some feeling into my hands that have gone numb with the cold.

"The—" The sound of continuous bullets being fired reverberates through the area cutting Alessandro off and causing panic to take shelter within me.

Rounds after rounds are fired with no interval, but from the sound reaching my ears, I can safely say that they're coming from a distance. "What's going on?" I ask in a panic-stricken tone as more shots are fired.

"Looks like we didn't need to make contact after all," he mumbles pulling me closer towards him and holding on to me tight. And while I welcomed his warmth deep down, I also know that if that is the sound of my brothers finding us, this might be the last time I get to be held by Alessandro like this.

"We need to go," I point out, my voice barely exceeding a whisper.

"I know," he says in a tone softer than mine before he crashes his lips on mine in a much-needed kiss.       

Author's Note: 

Hey guys, and like always I'm back after disappearing for a good few days...

Anywho I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm actually a bit nervous to get started on the next but I'll try to get it done as soon as I can!

Quick question: how do you feel her brothers' will react when they find out about her and Alessandro? 

And how will she handle them? 

Comment &vote 

And stay safe and happy 

Until next time 

~Kia